Interview: Shaun Michael McNamara of ALL PUPPET PLAYERS

I had the pleasure of speaking with Shaun Michael McNamara, the Owner and Artistic Director of All Puppet Players, a hilarious puppet theatre company for adults in Phoenix. Our conversation was a great deal of fun. Key takeaways for me included "Don't wait to make your art" and the importance of "always leaving room for the unpredictable." I've been to an APP show. It is not for kids. And that's what makes it such a great time. The creativity is unbridled. While it is certainly for mature audiences, these shows also have a beating heart and a true creative joy. I have also never laughed this hard while viewing live theatre. Take a look at my conversation with Shaun below, and check out their website at allpuppetplayers.com. Photos: Fourth Wall Photo Studio.
 
Zach: What keeps the fire burning over at APP? What are you most excited about?
 
Shaun: What keeps the fire burning is that we never fully mastered this thing, and that’s where the fun lives. We’ve been doing this for 15 years and we’re still chasing that feeling when an audience gasps, then laughs, then feels slightly guilty about it. Right now I’m most excited about going even harder in Arizona. This is our backyard, our audience, our chaos. We want APP to be so baked into Phoenix culture that you can’t talk about live theater in this city without talking about puppets screaming at you from a stage.  

Z: Tell me about your history, how you got here, and where you're hoping to go?

S: What began as a scrappy experiment turned into a cult company that somehow survived for a decade and a half. We did not grow because we played it safe, we grew because we doubled down on being weird. Where we are going is not about leaving Arizona, it is about deepening our roots here. Bigger shows, bolder risks, crazier ideas, and becoming the strange, beloved, slightly unhinged theater company people think of when they think of Phoenix. I would love for us to eventually be a destination theater. Imagine that. A tiny puppet company under a parking structure, with no stage right and barely any wing space, and people flying in from all over just to see our dumb stuff. That would be cool! Unlikely! But a guy can dream!
 
Z: How do you tackle challenging material and engage your audience?

S: Challenging material? Honestly, this is not the theater for that. We are not trying to challenge your ideals, unmask human frailty, or make some grand cultural statement. We are trying to make you laugh. Full stop. Our goal is to make you FORGET about everything that is going on outside of our walls. We (hopefully) engage our audience by letting them see live theater LIVE. We invite the audience into the mess with us, so they’re not just watching the show, they’re experiencing it in real time. If something breaks, we make it part of the story. If a joke lands wrong, we pivot. If an audience coughs loudly, we stop the show to get them water. Live theater should feel alive, and we lean hard into that.

Z: What should someone know who has never been to an APP show? What makes APP unique?

S: If you’ve never been to an APP show, know this. You will see puppets, but you will not see a kids’ show. Expect profanity, nostalgia, chaos, musical numbers, and surprisingly REALLY cool puppets. It is a one of a kind theatrical experience, and I'm not just saying that. No two shows are the same. Our shows are a living breathing organism and it mutates depending on audience interactions happening in real time and what we've learned from the past.
 
Z: Tell me about your background and what you bring as the leader for your company. What is your vision and process?

S: I come from acting, writing, and directing, but mostly from being obsessed with movies, music, and bad ideas that later turn out to be very good ones. As a leader, I bring curiosity, stubbornness, and a genuine willingness to fail spectacularly in front of an audience if it means finding something new. My vision is simple. I want to make a theater that feels like a live wire. Funny, messy, heartfelt, and completely unapologetic. 

My process is to write fast, rehearse with playfulness, and always leave room for the unpredictable, because that is where the real magic happens. That might not be proof of “vision” so much as proof of ADHD, but you work with what you have. And to be clear, I did not do this alone. APP exists because a lot of incredibly talented, patient, and slightly unhinged people took a chance with me along the way. So one more piece of advice. Find like minded people who share your dream and are willing to build it with you. That is how anything truly wild and lasting gets made.
 
When I started APP, I had a few hundred dollars in my savings account and absolutely no idea what I was doing. I did not know how to build puppets, construct sets, design costumes, produce a show, run auditions, or even get insurance. The only thing I knew for certain was that no one else was doing what I wanted to do, and that made it worth trying.
 
So I say this directly to all the dreamers and artists out there who keep waiting for the perfect moment. Do it now. Do not wait. Do not ask permission. If you keep waiting for someone to tell you it is okay to make your art, you will never make it. Take the risk. Jump before you feel ready. It will be worth it.

Z: Give us some tidbits about your upcoming shows and what we should be getting excited about.

S: Our next show is The Parody Puppet Princess Bride (running February 20th - March 29th), back by popular demand for a second run. It is an original musical comedy that takes everything you love about the movie and translates it into live theater with songs, choreography, and all the jokes and bits you remember, just bigger, louder, and felt-fueled. It has high adventure, true love, and miracles. What more could you want?
 
Our final show of the year is CONvicts on an AIRplane, which is exactly as unhinged as it sounds. It is basically every pop culture villain you love trapped together, fighting for freedom, with only one puppet capable of stopping them. And yes, he looks suspiciously like Nicolas Cage.
 
Z: What are some of your favorite moments from working at APP?
S: I have too many memories from APP to ever do them full justice in words on a screen. What I can really describe is the feeling I get every time I step into that place, that mixture of pure joy, gratitude, and disbelief that this strange thing we built actually exists. That feeling comes from the artists I get to work with every day and the wild audiences who keep laughing and showing up, show after show. They are the source of my favorite moments now and to come!